Creative & technical
Backup for web design and development agencies hosting client sites
Mindtime backs up the Linux servers, databases and developer laptops behind the sites you build and host, and keeps immutable copies in its own data centres in the Netherlands and Germany. Because one copy is air-gapped, a compromised server or a failed update cannot take every copy with it.
In Dutch, German or English.
- NL · DEStored only in our own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany
- ImmutableObject Lock storage plus an air-gapped copy; every backup job is checked
- ISO 27001 · NEN 7510Audited security, with a data processing agreement in every contract
- NL · DE · ENSupport from people, no offshore call centres or chatbots
In short
Web design and development agencies need backups outside their own servers, because one bad plugin update or compromised host can take several client sites and their customer data offline at once. Mindtime backs up Linux servers, MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL databases and developer laptops to its own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, immutable and air-gapped.
What's at stake
The data web design and development agencies can't afford to lose
Client sites and their databases
Orders, form submissions and accounts live in the database, not in your Git repository. If a client's database is lost, so are their customers' details and the content they added themselves.
Source code, themes and design files
Custom themes, plugins and the design files behind them are your agency's work. A repository without the server configuration and the assets is not a site you can bring back.
Server configuration and contracts
Virtual host settings, cron jobs and certificates take hours to rebuild from memory. The hosting agreements and processing agreements with clients show what you promised to keep.
Rules and obligations
What the rules ask of web design and development agencies
Summarised from the sources listed at the bottom of this page. This is general information, not legal advice.
Hosting client data makes you a processor
When you store or manage personal data in a client's site on their behalf, you act as a processor. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens requires the client to sign a processing agreement with you that sets out exactly what you may do with that data, and you must tell the client as soon as possible about a breach. [1]
Your client's 72-hour clock
A data breach must be reported to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, and loss of availability, as with ransomware, counts. When a client's site is down because of you, that clock is running for them. [2]
Hosting can fall under NIS2
The Cyberbeveiligingswet lists cloud computing services and data centre services as part of the digital infrastructure sector, supervised by the RDI. If your agency sells hosting, check whether that service falls under one of these definitions. [3]
Size decides, and group companies count
The law applies to organisations with 50 or more employees, or with turnover and balance sheet total both above €10 million, and partner and linked companies count towards those figures. The RDI's NIS2 self-assessment tells you whether you are in scope. [4]
Code is a protected work
Article 10 of the Auteurswet lists computer programs and their preparatory material among protected works. Your repositories and design files are part of what you deliver to clients, so keep them recoverable. [5]
When it goes wrong
One update, twelve broken sites
Illustrative example: a web agency rolls out a plugin update across its shared hosting server, the update fails halfway and corrupts the databases of a dozen client sites. The nightly database dumps were stored on the same server and were damaged with them. Mindtime's backup of the server and its MariaDB databases sits in Mindtime's own data centres, immutable and out of reach of the failed update. The agency restores the server into an isolated environment, checks each site and brings them back one by one while keeping clients informed.
How Mindtime protects it
Backup for web design and development agencies, workload by workload
- Linux server backupClient sites, staging environments and self-hosted Git usually run on Linux servers.
- Database backupOrders, accounts and content live in MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL, separate from the code.
- Laptop and endpoint backupDevelopers and designers keep local branches, exports and design files on their laptops.
- Microsoft 365 backupProject mail and shared documents with clients often sit in Outlook and SharePoint.
- AWS backupAgencies that host client sites on AWS still need copies outside the account that runs them.
- Disaster RecoveryWhen a hosting server fails, every client on it is offline until it is running again.
The software you use, and what we protect around it
| WordPress | A WordPress site is files on the server plus a MySQL or MariaDB database, and both are needed to restore it. If sites run on your own Linux servers, Mindtime backs up the servers and their databases. |
|---|---|
| GitHub or GitLab | Hosted repositories sit with the supplier, so check its retention terms; GitHub suggests a mirror clone for your own copy. Keep that mirror on a server or laptop that Mindtime backs up. A self-managed GitLab on your own Linux server is covered as a server backup. |
| Figma | Figma can save a local .fig copy, without version history or comments. Saved copies on laptops, in Drive or in OneDrive are included in Mindtime's backup. |
| Linux hosting servers (MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL) | Whether in your own rack or with a cloud provider, Mindtime backs up the Linux servers and databases; for AWS, Azure or Google Cloud there are dedicated workloads. |
| Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace | Client briefs, project mail and shared documents. Mailboxes and online files are copied to Mindtime's Dutch and German data centres. |
Before you switch
What web design and development agencies ask us first
Our hosting panel already makes nightly backups.
Those copies usually live on the same server or with the same provider, so the incident that hits the server can hit them too. Mindtime puts an immutable copy in its own data centres, keeps an air-gapped copy and checks each backup job for you.
Everything is in Git, so what is there to lose?
Git holds code, not your clients' databases, uploads, server configuration or mail. Those are what a client notices when they are gone. Mindtime backs up servers, databases and laptops alongside your repositories.
Our clients want to know where their data goes.
You can tell them: only to Mindtime's own Tier III data centres in the Netherlands and Germany, encrypted in transit with AES-256, under a data processing agreement, with Mindtime audited against ISO 27001.
FAQ
Questions about backup for web design and development agencies
Can Mindtime back up WordPress sites?
Mindtime backs up the Linux servers and the MySQL or MariaDB databases your WordPress sites run on, not WordPress as an application. With both the server files and the database covered, you can bring back a complete site, or a single database, and check it in an isolated environment before it goes live again.
Does our agency fall under the Cyberbeveiligingswet?
Only if you provide a listed service, such as cloud computing or data centre services, and meet the size criteria of 50 employees or more, or turnover and balance sheet above €10 million. Most web agencies are smaller. Use the RDI's NIS2 self-assessment to check, and read Mindtime's NIS2 page if you are in scope.
What if a hosting server is hacked?
Mindtime's copies are immutable through Object Lock and one is air-gapped, so an attacker on your server cannot alter them. Backups are scanned for malware and restored into an isolated environment first. Admin actions in Mindtime require MFA, which makes it harder for a stolen password to reach your backups.
Can we keep client sites online while a server is rebuilt?
With disaster recovery, Mindtime keeps standby infrastructure on which your servers can run. The first test failover typically takes place within 10 days, and DR is tested every quarter. That gives you a tested answer for clients who ask what happens when your hosting fails.
Can we resell backup to our own clients?
Yes. Mindtime's partner model offers a multi-tenant console, pay-as-you-grow billing and white-label options, so you can include backup in your hosting or maintenance contracts under your own name. Book a free 15-minute demo to see how it would work for your agency and your clients.
See it with your own data
Book a 15-minute demo
We show you a backup and a restore, and answer your questions in Dutch, German or English. No offshore call centres, no chatbots.